In the textile industry, yarn is formed of a plurality of slivers. To form the yarn, however, various steps are required to obtain the type and texture of the yarn desired. During sliver processing, sliver is often provided for shipment and use in cans or other containers which allow a first end of the sliver to be drawn or pulled from the can. A second end of the sliver is often left available for splicing to the first end of another can. This splicing is conventionally accomplished by a hand-type braid, twist, or other connection between the second end of the first can and the first end of the second can to join these respective ends of sliver together so that when the first can of sliver empties, the second can is ready to go for additional sliver processing. This hand-type braiding or twisting of the sliver has also become somewhat of a specialty of different textile personnel in sliver handling and processing. This manual procedure, however, can be time consuming, labor intensive, costly, inconsistent from person to person forming the braid or twist, and often is not strong or secure enough when the sliver is further handled or processed.
Other types of automatic splicing systems have been developed over the years. Examples can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,389 by Onoue et al. titled “Sliver Piecing In Spinning Machines,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,722 by Akiyama titled “Sliver Piecing Device Having Fiber Entangling Needles And Air Jets,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,241 by Haigh et al. titled “Method And Apparatus For Combining Fibres Formed Into Slivers For Supply To Textile Machinery,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,318 by Becker et al. titled “Method And Device For Making A Knot-Free Thread Connection By Splicing,” U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,969,323 and 4,982,563 each by Stahlecker and each titled “Sliver Splicing Arrangement For A Spinning Machine,” U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,725 by Strew titled “Sliver Piecing Device,” U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,520 by Gagnon titled “Process Of Splicing Tow,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,758 by Stahlecker et al. titled “Process And An Arrangement For The Piercing Of A Sliver,” Japanese Patent Document Application No. 05105652 by Takashi titled “Sliver Joining Apparatus In Spinning Machine,” and German Patent Document No. 90-210593/28 titled “Automatic Splicer For Roving On Ring-Spinning Frame—Has Needle Arrangement To Felt Fibres.” These automated systems, however, can be quite expensive to install, can be costly to operate, can have various complex mechanical and/or electrical problems, can take up additional floor space in manufacturing environments, can be bulky and awkward to use, and can often require extensive special training for personnel or the hiring of special personnel to oversee this automated equipment.